Why Review Your Pension?
I have said this before but at Hoskin Financial Planning, one of our passions is to ensure that our clients get value for money.
An area that is often overlooked is Pensions!!
Pensions have not had a great press in the past but like any investment a regular review can make a big difference.
Quite often I hear ‘my pension hasn’t performed well’!
The question I always ask is ‘when was it last reviewed’?
There are many reasons why you should review your pension. Here are just a few:-
The funds you are investing in may no longer match your attitude to risk – What does this mean? Well, when you are young and have many years until you retire, the fluctuations in the value of your fund may not concern you as your pension fund has a long time to recover from those downturns in value. However, as you approach retirement, this may concern you more.
Are you still invested in the same fund as you invested in when you started your pension plan many years ago?
Provider Charges – there have been many changes in the charging structure of pensions over the years. What are the charges applied to your pension?
Is your pension an older style plan with expensive charges compared to more modern plans?
Many providers offer discounted charges for larger funds. Have you got multiple pension pots that could be consolidated to your benefit?
Pensions have become more flexible over the years. How flexible is your pension plan?
However, there are some older style pension plans that have valuable features that are worth retaining.
It is important that any review of your pension plan or retirement planning is undertaken by a qualified expert who can evaluate your existing plans and advise an appropriate way forward.
It is in your best interests to review your existing pension arrangements to see if you’re getting the most out of your savings.
Paul Hoskin IFA based in Maldon Essex.